PART 2 OF "UNDERSTANDING AYURVEDA - UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF!
Welcome to part 2 of this course!
Please be sure that you have understood the concepts of part 1 sufficiently to move on.
In this part, we will talk about psychological “digestion”, the formation of mental Ama and the channels of the mind.
As you will see, everything in life is digestion and there is no toxicity except for in stagnation!
NADIS AND CHAKRAS
In this section, let us have a look at the Energy channels of the body.
Please watch the following webinar on Nadi and Chakras:
According to Samkhya, there cannot be a physical manifestation if there wasn’t an imbalance in the subtle realm first, ie in the gunas of the mind. The mind converts subtle energy into physical energy via the nervous system. The nervous system carries the current of life.
Prana, the life force is carried through the nervous system, but also through the blood and through the endocrine system. All these system of moving energy are transported through subtle channels – the Nadis.
Toxins are simply undigested particles that accumulate either in the physiological channels (srotamsi) or in the subtle channels (nadis). Only what accumulates and stagnates can become toxic.
The Nadis are the carriers of information. If they become blocked, disease can accumulate and develop.
Therefore, to keep the Nadis clear is an important goal of Ayurveda.
Disease, according to Ayurveda, also develops in a certain pathway, a pattern that we can trace back if we want to find the origins of a symptom.
Please listen to the following audio files on Ama (toxicity) and Samprapti (development of disease):
Can you relate the concept of Samprapti to yourself? Do you have any symptoms at all right now? Can you trace them back to their origins? Ask yourself
- When did my symptoms start?
- Was there other physical symptoms before that?
- What happened in my life during that time and the year or two before?
- Did I react appropriately to the messages of my body/mind?
- What was my diet/lifestyle like?
- How do they relate to the Doshas?
- What steps can I take now to address this original imbalance now?
- What channels of the mind or body may be blocked in your own mind-body organism?
- What chakras might be blocked?
I have an extra webinar on the chakras and the chakra lokas as well as a guided chakra meditation for you:.
Everything is digestion – even the mind. We take in subtle nutrients in form of experiences through our five senses, then we process them, assimilate them and eliminate the waste through our actions and expressions. Without a proper mental digestion there will not be a healthy mind. And without a healthy mind there will not be a healthy body.
The following presentation will outline a few basic aspects of life that will support a healthy mind digestion.
MENTAL DIGESTION
Now let us have a little closer look at the mind.
Vrittis are the fluctuations of the mind. They are ever changing thoughts, the content of our mind, the emotions, the longings and desires, the cravings, our behaviour patterns that come from unconscious conditionings.
“Yoga is the cessation of the Fluctuations of the mind”, say the Yoga Sutras – Yogascitta Vritti Nirodha.
Optimal mental health is reached only when we can calm the fluctuations of the mind and remove the unconscious conditionings that cause them.
Please listen to the following short talk:
Can you reflect on your own state of mind?
- Is your mind mostly sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic?
- What kind of combination of body/mind are you at this moment (ie Vata/rajasic, Kapha, Tamasic, etc)
- What steps can you take toward balance?
- Do you have a daily meditation/Yoga practice? Is this practice helpful? If not, what can you change to make it more effective?
THE ISSUE OF DEHYDRATION
Vata is the cause of most diseases. So, let us have a closer look at it now.
Let us observe the qualities of Vata a little closer:
- Air & Space
- Dryness
- Movement
- Lightness
- Irregularity
DRYNESS
Dehydration is the cause of many imbalances and diseases. Each cell in our body can only function properly when its membrane is in good condition. Cell hydration occurs when we
- drink enough water
- eat enough moist, warm foods (so that water can be absorbed with naturally from food)
- get enough nutrients in form of a balanced diet
- Get enough fat in the diet (to promote healthy membranes we need fat)
- Get enough exercise (activating cell metabolism)
- Get regular massages (manually stimulating membranes and connective tissue is an important way to allow cells to assimilate water)
- living in accordance to natural rhythms (the cell activity changes with fluctuations in daylight as well as to the phases of the moon)
Please listen to the following audio files:
AYURVEDA AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE/YOGA ASANA
The following two videos are particularly for those of you you practice or even teach Yoga:
Direct experience is the best way to learn anything in life. And we experience the world around us through our senses.
Our sense of taste is something we all have available to us to detect wether food is good for us or not, what type of food it is, and what type of enzymes our body needs to activate for its digestion. Our tastebuds are like scientific measuring tools that analyse our food and activate the digestive systems according to what is needed.
So now, we get to the third part of this course – the practice. Please watch the following introduction and the talk on the importance of taste in Ayurveda:
You can experiment at home when you are using digestive spices in your cooking. The more you want them to have a medicinal effect, the more you have to watch out for quality, freshness and also for quantity. A pinch of cumin in a stew for five people isn’t going to have the same effect that a 1/2 teaspoon in hot water for yourself will have.
I really recommend also to experiment with taste.
When I was a child, the “taste game” was one of my favourite games. Blindfolded, you taste different ingredients and guess what they are. Of course, someone would always add a piece of soap or a hot chilli or the like. You can play it with your kids, or simply use it as a mindfulness practice – close your eyes and really and truly savour the taste of your food. What feelings arise from the taste? is it warming or cooling? Our own awareness is the best judge, once we train it. Have fun with it!
And lastly, I have uploaded a little instruction on how to make Ghee for you.
There is no food source higher in butyric acid than ghee, which is why it is used so widely in Ayurveda since thousands of years.
Byteric acid is what feeds and repairs our gut cells and it is also producing probiotic bacteria in the gut. It is truly a wonder-medicine.
Just be sure to use good quality unsalted butter.
Congratulations! You are done! I hope that you enjoyed this course and that it helped you to really understand your body and mind a little bit better through the eyes of Ayurveda.
As a parting gift, let me offer you a 20% discount on a vedic counselling/ayurveda or vedic astrology session – Just write an email to me or use the form below with your details.
Now there is nothing left to do but to relax and begin to trust your body. And to do that, here is another gift for you: A deep, guided relaxation. Just lie down, relax, listen and enjoy!